According to a Guardian report, a painting stolen by the Nazis is set to be auctioned by the Im Kinsky auction house in Vienna next week. Van der Helst’s “Portrait of a Man,” a 17th century Dutch Master work, was stolen from the collection of Adolphe Schloss in 1943, a Jewish-German businessman who lived in…
Most of us in journalism didn’t go into the profession only to write stories about people behaving badly, or only to rail against injustice, or only to point out all of society’s flaws. But too often the magnetic pull of the negative becomes the default definition of “news” and journalism fails to make enough room…
It’s not a normal story of art stolen by the Nazis being restored to its rightful owners. When it comes to Max Liebermann’s “Basket Weavers,” the unwitting Israeli purchaser of the looted painting was himself a Holocaust survivor, as was the American to whom it was returned this week. “This was not a legal case…
On April 7th, a new exhibition is opening at the Norton Simon Museum in sunny (I’m assuming) Pasadena that has Sisterhood written all over it. “Maven of Modernism: Galka Scheyer in California”, curated by Gloria Williams Sander, will showcase European modernist art in the context of the Jewish “trailblazing impresario” who brought their works to…
For two decades, I’ve passed “Charging Bull,” the iconic bronze statue that stands near Wall Street, twice every workday when I walk from the Staten Island Ferry to my office in Manhattan. Now, I have to pass her too. I was never particularly fond of the beast, which always struck me as a bronze descendant…
The controversy over “cultural appropriation,” which in recent years has dogged everything from pop music videos to Halloween costumes to museum exhibits, is now having a particularly ugly episode at the Whitney Biennial, the renowned exhibition of American art at New York’s Whitney Museum. This time, the backlash targets a painting by Brooklyn artist Dana…
Look to any conservative site for an article decrying the existence of the National Endowment of the Arts and you will inevitably find a mention of Andre Serrano’s “Piss Christ.” It’s easy outrage fodder for obvious reasons — a photograph of a crucifix submerged in the artist’s urine is intentionally provocative, intentionally difficult, and, here is…
Artist and political activist Gustav Metzger died on March 1st the age of 90 at his London home, according to publicist Erica Bolton. Outside of the art world, Metzger’s name might be a little obscure, but if you’ve ever seen a video of The Who destroying their guitars, then you’ve seen the impact of Metzger’s…
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